Monday, March 12, 2012

HEIDI'S PICK SIX: Gary Cummings

1. Which of your characters is your favorite?My favorite character is Kyle Roach, the protagonist of my book Breaking In. I have to say that because if I don't, he may not say or do anything interesting in the sequel. Knowing Kyle only reads the first couple of sentences, and the last sentence of a paragraph, I can confidently say my favorite character is Kyle's ex-wife, Molly. Molly is the smartest and most creative person in the book. When she drops back into Kyle's life after years of being gone, things happen. And that is why Kyle is my favorite character.

2. Tell me about your travels.My wife and I absolutely love Glacier National Park. It's a three day drive or a convoluted, multi-connection flight from our home in the Midwest, so we can't visit as often as we would like. We go after Labor Day and, many times, seemingly have the huge park to ourselves.

3. Coffee, tea, or milk?
4. What else can you do besides write?

5. Who are you reading right now?I try to keep two books going when I read for pleasure: one novel in a genre close to what I write, and one non-fiction so as to keep up with my history-loving protagonist. Currently I'm reading Knight's Ransom, an action-adventure novel by Gordon Kessler and Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg, a biography of Charles Lindbergh.

6. Pop culture or academia?

7. What is the toughest scene you ever wrote?The action scenes in general are tough to write. My novel is peppered with humor so as I dial up the threat level, I have to tamp down my protagonist's tendency to comment or internalize on each difficulty he faces. When a deadly confrontation occurs I allow him a brief comment near the beginning of the struggle and maybe an ironic thought in the middle. When he survives, he's allowed to vent. He's earned it. By the way, every time I write a scene fraught with danger I end up with a headache!

8. Where do you find your inspirations to write?
9. Food you could eat everyday.
10. Are you into sports or other physical activities?
11. What kind of music speaks to you?

12. Do you outline your stories or do they just take you along for the ride?I've learned to allow my characters to go their own way-within the arena I've set for them. I believe a writer's inner Muse is like a child and the writer's inner Editor is like the child's guardian. My Editor wants Kyle to go to a safe part of the playground and bounce a ball against a wall while thinking clever thoughts, in complete sentences. My Muse allows Kyle to rush to the monkey bars and hang upside down by his knees, do a flip to the ground and run behind the school and pick a fight with the playground bully. I decide on the playground for the characters, the Muse allows the characters to get bloodied and their clothes torn and the Editor patches them up and makes things right with the other parents.

14. Who are the biggest influences on your work?
15. Do you still watch cartoons?

Gary Cummings retired from his job as a machinist in 2008 to full begin his dream life as a writer. His wife and he joined with a small group of writers who love to write and enjoy helping each other write well. Breaking In is his first novel. He's entered contests and has won awards in the short story, humor, poetry and screenplay categories. You can contact Gary at GaryLCummings.com.

DESCRIPTION OF Breaking In
As private detective Kyle Roach flees the scene of a house explosion, his tattered shirt resembling Miss Kentucky’s sash, he suspects his beautiful client has been less than truthful. During the next four days, Kyle will use a licorice rope to drive off a would-be assassin, crash his beloved pickup into a motel room and steal four vehicles. His unorthodox tactics prompt his rich, spoiled client, Stella, to fire him. In turn, Kyle kidnaps her “for her own good”. And this is Kyle’s first case.

It’s not as if Kyle’s life needs turmoil. His week ended with the employer at his day job announcing Kyle’s pension had become a victim of cost cutting. He struggles daily with the loneliness of being divorced. The memory of his late father’s suicide lingers, and he wrestles with his own fleeting suicidal thoughts. Kyle fights on, surrounding himself with friends and immersing himself in sports, alcohol and a study of great thinkers from the past.

Stella and Kyle settle into an uneasy alliance as they hurtle across the Midwest, running from hired killers as well as the police. The clash of wealthy versus middle class, East Coast versus Middle America and cool sex appeal versus wanton wanting punctuate their flight. Stella’s demands and arrogance drive Kyle to the point of abandoning her but his conscience demands that he fulfill his obligation to protect his high maintenance client.

Gary, your humor sneaks into everything you do. Breaking In is a fun read, as is this interview. Heidi, thank you for bringing Gary in for questioning. It's obvious he's guilty of something--in the least it's of being a very humorous writer!

NEWS Man of War

BOOKS I can't tell you what an honor it is to write a sequel to a Science Fiction Grandmaster's novel. Thank you to Meteor House a...

NEWS Starrie in Publishers Weekly

Nice review from Publisher's Weekly for Starrie (From the World of Ambasadora)!
"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified."

TALKING ABOUT MAN OF WAR

"More than just demonstrating how the best science fiction thrills with action, and explores romance in new and unexpected ways, Heidi Ruby Miller gives us something equally important -- representation, through an exploration of Farmer's classic Iroquois character Two Hawks. Anyone interested in page-turners with diversity should stop what they're doing and read Man of War." -John Edward Lawson, Bram Stoker Award finalist and author of Bibliophobia

TALKING ABOUT THE AMBASADORA SERIES

"AMBASADORA has a lot to say about the human spirit and it says it well." -MIKE RESNICK Nebula and Hugo Award-winning Author of the Santiago series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified." -Publisher's Weekly

TALKING ABOUT MANY GENRES

"...a beautiful and insightful must-have book for any writer, from newbie to working pro. Highly recommended!" -JONATHAN MABERRY NYT Bestselling Author of the Joe Ledger series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"STARRIE is one ripping fast book and a well told story. I loved it!" --Basil Sands, The Big Thrill

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S WRITING

"...a writer-crush on Heidi Ruby Miller. I mean, holy crap, this girl can write! This is how you write Science-Fiction." -CARY CAFFREY Bestselling Author of The Girls from Alcyone trilogy

TALKING ABOUT GREENSHIFT

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Take authentic, straight-ahead space opera. Stir in a highly trained, kick-ass assassin on a mission of vengeance. Toss in a career soldier and watch them battle together, and grow together, as adversity piles on. Serve hot! Heidi Ruby Miller’s STARRIE serves up the perfect concoction of nonstop, take-no-prisoners SF action and romance, set against the intriguing backdrop of the brutal and dangerous world of AMBASADORA, and deftly leaves us wanting more." -Win Scott Eckert, coauthor with Philip José Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House and author of The Scarlet Jaguar, winner of the 2014 New Pulp Award

TALKING ABOUT MARKED BY LIGHT

"Talk about an outlaw hero that is larger than life. Talk about a hero who changes worlds." -JENNA BENNET NYT Bestselling Author of The Fortune series

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S STORIES

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"With explosive action, kick-ass heroes and romance that hits all the right notes, STARRIE gives fans of science fiction romance everything they want—at a breakneck pace. Plan to stay up all night finishing this one, it’s impossible to put down!" - RHONDA MASON Author of The Empress Game